Delta govt alerts residents on impending flood

•Approves N10b for palliatives

Flood ravages Niger Delta areas of Nigeria

Delta State government, yesterday, called on residents in lowland and flood-prone areas to relocate to higher planes in view of the impending flood, following the release of water from Cameroun’s Lagdo Dam into rivers Niger and Benue.

Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Festus Ekpen Ahon, gave the warning in a statement in Asaba, noting that the state government was concerned about life and property of citizens living in flood-prone areas, following warnings from the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA).

According to Ahon, the Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has approved the setting up of a 14-man Flood Disaster Management Committee, headed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Kingsley Emu, to mitigate expected challenges of the impending flood.

The CPS said the committee is saddled with the responsibility of carrying out aggressive sensitisation of citizens, and proposing appropriate measures for prevention and management of flooding.

He added that the committee would also address the displacement of people and to suggest ways for the provision of relief materials to victims.

He said: “The Delta State government has been informed that the authorities of Lagdo Dam in Cameroun would be releasing modulated amounts of water into the rivers Benue and Niger due to flooding caused by torrential rainfall.

In another development, the Delta State Executive Council, yesterday, approved N10 billion social investments to fund palliatives. It also granted approval for a N40 billion credit facility offer to the 25 local councils in the state to defray substantial part of outstanding retirement benefits to council pensioners.

These were contained in a N167 billion 2023 supplementary budget approved during the state Executive Council inaugural meeting, yesterday, in Asaba.
The Commissioner for Economic Planning, Sonny Ekedayen, said: “This decision was reached at the state Executive Council meeting presided over by Oborevwori.

He said, while briefing journalists at the end, that the governor would forward the supplementary budget to the state Assembly for approval, especially with regard to provision of palliatives for the less privileged and people living with disabilities, widows, women, youths and the aged in the society.”